I am planning to renovate the roof of my house by replacing the old, dilapidated iron sheets with new ones. The current roof leaks whenever it rains, which has weakened the structure of the house. To alleviate this stress, my priority is to purchase new iron sheets. I have been saving my money and have already acquired 10 pieces so far. My goal is to acquire 28 iron sheets, which will be enough to renovate the entire roof. I am pleased with my progress and believe that I will achieve my goal soon. My main objective is to have a stable house where I can live peacefully with my four children and be free from constant worries whenever it rains.

I spent $30 of my recent transfer to purchase three pieces of iron sheets to renovate my roof. The old and leaking iron sheets had weakened my entire house, so I plan to buy at least 28 pieces. So far, I have been able to acquire 10 pieces by buying them in bits. Once I have enough, I will start renovating the roof. Having a stable roof will mean that I no longer have to worry about rain, which has been my biggest concern for a while. Sometimes I am forced to seek shelter from other people due to the condition of my house. I also spent $70 on livestock, including two goats and two chickens. I currently own seven goats and ten chickens and plan to breed them and be able to generate income by selling them. I am currently selling snacks and vegetables as a small business, and owning livestock will supplement the income from this business. I have four children who are still in lower levels of education, and I plan to sell the livestock to cater for their education as they advance in the near future. I also paid $20 in fees for my children, which allowed them to stay in school without the risk of being sent home for lack of fees. This is a significant improvement from before when they would stay at home for days before I could raise the required amount. Finally, I used the remaining amount to pay for household expenses such as buying food and toiletries.

My primary objective is to acquire new iron sheets and completely refurbish the roof of my house, as the current rusty and deteriorated sheets with holes allow rainwater to seep into the house during rainfall. Alongside this crucial renovation, I am committed to supporting my children's education by covering their school fees. The assistance provided by Give Directly has been instrumental in enhancing the quality of my life, and I am sincerely appreciative of this financial support.

I allocated a significant portion of my transfers towards the purchase of two goats, which amounted to $68. I opted for this investment as I believe that goats are a wise choice for securing my financial future. The potential for the goats to multiply provides me with the opportunity to sell some, generating funds to meet my various needs. Given my status as a widow and the limited earnings from selling charcoal, this investment is crucial in supporting my family's comprehensive needs and ensuring financial stability. Furthermore, apart from acquiring the goats, I utilized a portion of the funds to pay the school fees for my children in primary school. This action safeguarded their uninterrupted pursuit of education, ensuring that they could continue their schooling without any disruptions. I am genuinely grateful for the financial support provided by Give Directly, as it has played a pivotal role in transforming my life for the better, fostering stability and hope for the future.

The iron sheets on my house are in a sorry state, being both old and rusty, and riddled with holes that let rainwater seep inside whenever it pours. By the year's end, I aim to save up a sufficient amount of money to purchase brand new iron sheets and completely overhaul the roof. Alongside repairing the roof, I have another aspiration to support my children's education by using the transfer funds.

"I am the sole provider for my family, responsible for four children. My main source of income comes from casual labor, where I sell charcoal made from tree stumps. Unfortunately, the quantity of charcoal I produce is quite small, and as a result, I struggle to make ends meet financially. Recently, I received my July transfers, and I immediately allocated $20 to pay for the school fees of three of my children who attend Bengoni primary school. It was crucial for me to ensure that they could continue their education like any other children. With the remaining $14, I purchased food, and I am grateful that it proved sufficient to sustain us for nearly two weeks. I take pride in the fact that we never went hungry during this time, unlike before when we used to miss meals on most days.

The house that I currently live in is in a dilapidated state and therefore my goal with the transfers that would receive is to build a better house that would be suitable for my family. I would achieve this by ensuring that I spent $30 of my monthly transfers to buy the roofing sheets and other materials needed and commence the construction before the end of the year.

The transfer that I received was of great help to me. I currently have three children who are in school and they had been sent home for school fees. I felt so stressed because I had no money to enable them to go back to school and therefore was forced to stay home with them for some days as I looked for some money to enable them to go back, but I was unable. Luckily, I received the transfers which was a great relief to me because managed to pay $21 for all of them and cleared all their pending balances. With the remaining amount, I also managed to buy food for my family worth $13 and I felt that the support was such a great relief to my children and I.

My primary goal this year is to buy iron sheets for the renovation of my house. Its roof is pretty old since it has existed for the last thirty years. Once it is repaired, I shall be free from extreme weather conditions, especially at night. Secondly, I have a goal of investing in livestock keeping. I consider buying livestock as a simple but most appropriate saving scheme because later in I can sell them to raise some money for family needs. Since I have three school-going children, my aim is to use part of the transfer to pay their school fees. I will be a happy mother to see them always going to school.

At the time I was receiving the donation from the rganization, it had actually been a week since my son had stepped into a classroom because I had failed to pay for his fees. That is why I was honestly very thrilled to receive the money and I ended up settling his debt which cost me KES 2,000. Afterwards I proceeded to spend KES 1,000 on purchasing six packets of maize flour because there was hardly any food left in the house. I'm left with a balance of KES 400 which I plan on spending to purchase a hen.

In my view, GiveDirectly is one of the most unique organizations. It promotes the well-being of the less fortunate in society by giving direct cash transfers without strings attached. This has made people who had ideas but could not at first implement them due to financial constraint put their ideas into practice. Some have begun businesses and they are likely to thrive well. In contrast, there is nothing that I have so far observed that GiveDirectly does not do well. Even members of the communities are praising it for being honest and striving to uphold a high level of integrity among its employees.

Though I have not yet spent my recent transfer, I have saved them intending to buy a goat. I value goats because they often have ready markets and can be a great help in times of emergency. At the moment, I only have 3 goats. With an increased number of my flock, I shall be more confident even to raise school fees for my children without being a bother to my immediate family members.

I was sitting outside my house with my head full of thoughts on how I would raise money to clear the fee balances for my children. My phone rang twice, and I eventually picked it up and checked the message. Wow, I was surprised that I had received my first transfer. For a moment, I remained speechless, as I could not believe if this was true. I was thrilled, and this lightened my mood.

I am grateful that the transfer made an enormous difference in my life by helping me in paying school. I had reached a dead-end in finding money to pay school fees. My charcoal selling business was not doing well. This stressed me a lot.

I spent my entire transfer on paying school fees arrears for my children who are in primary school. I earn a living through the sale of charcoal. For close to a month, I did not make any sales, making it difficult to clear the school fee balances for my children. As a result, they stayed at home and did not go to school. I am a widow and have the sole responsibility of raising my children. It is hard to cater to all their needs because I earn very little from my unstable source of income. I am glad that they are in high spirits as they resume their studies after clearing off the school fee debt.